August 24, 2016

Welcome to the Mediterranean Achievers Blog Hop for July. I love participating with some of the other WORLD'S TOP DEMONSTRATORS! That's right - this hop features Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world. All of us have earned a FREE 7-night Mediterranean Cruise for TWO with Stampin' Up! I'm sad to say I chose to "cash out" of the cruise again this time around. But, I'm glad I still get to hop with these wonderful folks!

Today we're sharing some sneak peeks from the new Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog. Oh my goodness, it's amazing! Hopefully you've received your catalog from your demonstrator. I mailed mine out a couple of weeks ago. If you don't have a demonstrator, drop me a note and I'll mail you one - kristinkortonick@yahoo.com.

I thought I would share three cards with you today. Why three? Well, I joined a swap with a bunch of other trip-achieving demonstrators here in the US. And, since this swap features trip-achieving demonstrators, I thought it would be appropriate to share the cards I designed to swap with them and joined 3 groups. I put a TON of thought into my swaps. I want each card design to be completely different than the ones I create for the other groups. See, I know I'm not the only person who joined multiple groups. I love receiving a wide variety of cards and styles. I figure they do, too! I decided to design a card for three different themes in the catalog: Halloween, Fall, and Christmas.

So....here they are.....

This first card is one of my favorites and is LOADED with sneak peeks! If you follow my blog or follow me on Facebook, you may have seen me mention that I'm launching a brand new website NEXT WEEK! I'm super excited! I've been working on this for awhile. If you know me, you probably know I set HUGE goals for myself. Well, my goal for my new website is to share a printable tutorial for every project I post that includes a color photo of the project, step-by-step instructions, supply list with item numbers, and all dimensions. And I'm giving these to you absolutely FREE! Oh...and that's not all....I'm also providing an instructional video for each and every project, too!

I love the Halloween accessories in the new Holiday Catalog! I especially LOVE that Stampin' Up! has packaged up Enamel Dots in Old Olive, Perfect Plum, and Pumpkin Pie. So, if you're wanting to make Halloween cards or treat bags, you can affordably embellish with coordinating enamel dots! SCORE! They match this yummy Halloween Night Washi Tape. I know you can't see in the photo, but those bats are silver foil! Here's the list of Holiday Catalog products to add to your wish list:

Spooky Fun Stamp Set 142236 (sentiment - also part of the Halloween Scenes bundle - 141842)

Halloween Night Designer Washi Tape 142026

Halloween Night Enamel Dots 142025

Finally, the third card is the Christmas-themed card...

OH MY GOODNESS! The new Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder is GORGEOUS! If you've never used a Dynamic TIEF, let me give you some info....the folder is SIGNIFICANTLY thicker than our normal embossing folders. When you use it, you do not need the bottom cutting plate. The folder creates these amazing 3D backgrounds. It looks just like a cable-knit sweater!

This card is also packed FULL of sneak peeks, too! Here's the full list of products for your wish list:

I hope you'll continue hopping with the rest of the demonstrators in the hop! And please be sure to stop by in September to see my new website and all of its cool, new features! And, if you want to see the 150+ swap cards I receive back from other demonstrators, be sure to check out my website every single Sunday for my new "Swap Card Sunday" series!

August 14, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! Today's post is special - it's the monthly Stampers' Dozen Blog Hop featuring some wonderful Stampin' Up! Demonstrator "Leaders" from the US and Canada. Granted, you may already know that if you're coming from Janet's or Jodi's blogs.

This month's theme is "Shaker Cards". With the Holiday Catalog coming to you, I couldn't help but use some Holiday Catalgo Sneak Peek products that are PERFECT for creating shaker cards.

I have been stamping A TON of projects using the new Holiday Catalog products this month. I haven't shared many of them because I'm saving many of them for my BRAND NEW WEBSITE which launches next month! I'm so excited. I have BIG goals for myself and I hope you'll love the changes that are coming. Today's card would be perfect for my new format....but it's still August! How's that for a teaser?

The new Shaker Shapes Framelits actually contain three of these little ornaments. So you can quickly cut several at one time. To make sure my ornaments were lined up I did several things: I "taped" a strip of cardstock over my Whisper White layer and used it as a ruler. I marked on that strip exactly where I wanted the dies to fall. And, the strip acted as a straight edge. I used Washi Tape to adhere it to the Whisper White layer. Because I used washi, it was super easy to remove after the ornaments were cut without ruining the Whisper White layer that became to focal point of my card.

I adhered the gold baker's twine to the back of the card using Glue Dots. One Glue Dot above each ornament on the back of the card was enough to hold both ends of the twine.

I'm SO in love with the trio pack of Mica Flakes in the Holiday Catalog. There are some white flakes that could be used as snowy accents on a tree. There's also a yummy gold. And, there's this festive green. My original design was to make 5 separate windows for each ornament in alternating colors. But, I ultimately created one big window behind all of the ornaments - this gives much more movement behind the ornaments.

Did you also notice that textured White Cardstock?!? That's AWESOME specialty designer series paper in the catalog. You get 2 sheets of 6 different designs. They're all white. You can easily sponge them to highlight the raised designs. Or, you can leave them plain like I did.

Since many of the products aren't yet available for purchase (unless you're a Stampin' Up! demonstrator), here's a list of the items you'll want to add to your wish list for September 1st!

July 27, 2016

Welcome to the Mediterranean Achievers Blog Hop for July. I love participating with some of the other WORLD'S TOP DEMONSTRATORS! That's right - this hop features Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world. All of us have earned a FREE 7-night Mediterranean Cruise for TWO with Stampin' Up! I'm sad to say I chose to "cash out" of the cruise again this time around. But, I'm glad I still get to hop with these wonderful folks!

Today's hop is a little different. We're all featuring projects made using a brand new bundle that will only be available next month - Thoughtful Branches. Demonstrators have been able to play with this new bundle for the past month. So, I'm guessing you've probably seen one or two projects made using the stamps and dies.

It seems that there's no end to the possibilities for this set! It's a great stamp set for any occasion! I had fun creating some pretty simple cards to showcase just four of those options for today's hop.

Don't forget that you receive a free $5 coupon for every $50 you order between now and the end of July (amounts quoted in US Dollars - amounts vary by country). You can then use that coupon in August towards the purchase of this bundle....or any other item that might be on your wish list!